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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Timeless Classics - A Reading List

An old Chinese proverb says, 'A book is like a garden in the pocket.' Many of us who have valued reading in our early years derive enjoyment from reading to our children, and now, as I do, to our grandchildren. Books are voyages of discovery and transforming instruments to all of us.

A few years ago, the National Endowment for the Humanities asked schools around the country to send reading lists of their favorite books. Noticing how often books that other generations have enjoyed appear on these lists, we decided to make this compilation of tried-and- true titles. The works herein, published in 1960 or earlier, have delighted generations of readers.

Some have asked, 'Is the book dead?' as we move into new computer technologies. Not at all. Print text will co-exist with these new mediums.

As concerned parents, educators, and counselors, we must continue to emphasize the importance of access to good reading in order to shape our students’ learning process, enhance their understanding of American heritage, and open up a new world of self-fulfillment. As Aldous Huxley said, 'The proper study of mankind is books.'

There are some excellent older books that are missing from the list, because they appeared too infrequently in the school selections: Kate Douglas Wiggin’s Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, for example; Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales; Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Despite the absences, we hope this compilation will nevertheless bring hours of pleasure and enlightenment.

The titles presented for suggested extracurricular reading provide a solid foundation and hours of enjoyment for students and scholars of all ages.

We at NEH hope that the 'Timeless Classics' booklist will continue to be a rich source of material for everyone.

Sheldon Hackney Chairman

'Books are humanity in print' ...Barbara Tuchman

'Literature is an investment of genius which pays dividends to all subsequent times.' ...John Burroughs

'All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of books.' ...Thomas Carlyle

### Kindergarten through Grade 6 ###

Adamson, Joy Born Free

Aesop Fables*

Alcott, Louisa May Little Women

Andersen, Hans Christian Fairy tales

Atwater, Richard and Florence Mr. Popper’s Penguins*

Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin Miss Hickory

* Recommended for K-3, either for reading by children or for reading to them.

Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan

Baum, L. Frank The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Bemelmans, Ludwig Madeline series*

Bond, Michael A Bear Called Paddington

Boston, L.M. The Children of Green Knowe

Brink, Carol Ryrie Caddie Woodlawn

Brown, Margaret Wise Goodnight, Moon*

Brunhoff, Jean de The Story of Babar*

Burnett, Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden

Burton, Virginia Lee Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel*

Butterworth, Oliver The Enormous Egg

Clark, Ann Nolan Secret of the Andes

Cleary, Beverly Henry Huggins series

Coatsworth, Elizabeth The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Dalgliesh, Alice The Bears on Hemlock Mountain* The Courage of Sarah Noble*

De Angeli, Marguerite The Door in the Wall

De Jong, Meindert The House of Sixty Fathers The Wheel on the School

Dodge, Mary Mapes Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates

Du Bois, William Pene The Twenty-One Balloons

Edmonds, Walter D. The Matchlock Gun

Estes, Eleanor Ginger Pye Moffats series

Farley, Walter The Black Stallion

Field, Rachel Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Fritz, Jean The Cabin Faced West

Gilbreth, Frank B. and Ernestine G. Carey Cheaper By the Dozen

Gipson, Fred Old Yeller

Godden, Rumer The Mousewife*

Grahame, Kenneth The Reluctant Dragon* The Wind in the Willows f

Gray, Elizabeth Janet Adam of the Road

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Hawes, Charles The Dark Frigate

Haywood, Carolyn Betsy series*

Henry, Marguerite King of the Wind Misty of Chincoteague

Keith, Harold Rifles for Watie

Kelly, Eric The Trumpeter of Krakow

Kipling, Rudyard Captains Courageous Just So Stories for Little Children* The Jungle Books

Kjelgaard, Jim Big Red

Knight, Eric Lassie Come Home

Krumgold, Joseph ...and Now Miguel Onion John

LaFarge, Oliver Laughing Boy

Lamb, Charles and Mary Tales from Shakespear

Latham, Jean Lee Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

Lawson, Robert Ben & Me Rabbit Hill

Leaf, Munro The Story of Ferdinand*

Lear, Edward Book of Nonsense*

Lenski, Lois Strawberry Girl

Lewis, C.S. Chronicles of Narnia series

Lindgren, Astrid Pippi Longstocking series

Lofting, Hugh Doctor Doolittle series

London, Jack The Call of the Wild White Fang

MacDonald, Betty Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle*

MacGregor, Ellen Miss Pickerell series

McCloskey, Robert Blueberries for Sal* Homer Price Make Way for Ducklings*

McSwigan, Marie Snow Treasure

Meigs, Cornelia Invincible Louisa

Milne, A.A. The House at Pooh Corner* Now We Are Six* When We Were Very Young* Winnie-the-Pooh*